Yes, a PlayStation Exclusive Game Just Got a Character Announced For Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Whereas watching The Game Awards tonight, a shocking factor occurred. The lights went out, and Persona 5′s Joker appeared. Was it one thing Persona 5 associated? An enlargement maybe? Was this the subsequent Persona tease? After some intelligent forwards and backwards dialog between the sport’s primary characters, it was unmasked to be-

Persona 5’s Joker in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? What within the recent hell even is 2018 in gaming anymore?

That’s proper. Persona 5, a recreation that has solely appeared on PlayStation platforms to date, has its foremost character headlining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s first DLC pack, which incorporates Joker as a combatant, a Persona 5 stage for the sport, and a variety of Persona 5 music tracks to battle alongside to. Yup, that’s a PlayStation unique character showing in a Nintendo unique recreation. Even Persona 5 Dancing is a PlayStation unique, so Joker’s by no means made the leap off of Sony’s platform till now (until you rely Persona Q2 on the 3DS).

Now, to be truthful, Atlus is just not a Sony studio, so Sony doesn’t have any specific rights to Persona 5 or the Joker character. In a lot of the way, that is just like what we noticed with Metallic Gear Strong’s Strong Snake or Ultimate Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife showing in Super Smash Bros. (and now returning in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate). Characters that have been historically regarded as PlayStation icons have been recruited into the fray alongside Nintendo’s classics. However even Metallic Gear Strong and Remaining Fantasy VII had ventured off of the PlayStation platform by the point their characters appeared in Smash.

Does this imply that Persona 5, a recreation from a collection largely heralded as a PlayStation unique collection, is about to make the cross-platform leap? Or is that this Atlus’ comfort prize to Nintendo Change house owners, permitting them to play because the Phantom Thief of hearts in Nintendo’s beloved brawler? For the time being, it seems to be the latter, however who is aware of what loopy issues may occur sooner or later. I imply, this simply occurred, and I don’t assume anybody noticed that coming.

The Game Awards have been filled with nice reveals, from those we anticipated like Far Cry: New Daybreak and Crash Staff Racing Nitro-Fueled, to the utterly insane bulletins like this and that Dragon Age four tease. I’m not going to lie, as somebody who solely performs PlayStation video games, the Joker reveal is making me proceed to think about that Change buy. Kinda onerous to consider that a PlayStation unique character simply received introduced for a Nintendo unique recreation, but when that is a signal of issues to return, video video games are simply going to proceed to get extra loopy and sudden.

Persona 5 – EYNTK

At occasions the wait has been excruciating, notably after Persona 5 made its debut in Japan late final yr. However with the critiques starting to floor on-line, we now stand on the verge of Persona’s 5 western launch — and we could not be extra excited.

What’s Persona 5?

It is the newest (and probably biggest?) entry into Atlus’ beloved JRPG collection and a part of the overarching Megami Tensei franchise. Improvement started quickly after Atlus wrapped manufacturing on Catherine again in 2011, and Persona 5 was delayed a number of occasions to lend the dev staff sufficient time for polish and QA, to not point out the localization course of.

Set in Tokyo, Persona 5 orbits across the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a pocket of masked vigilantes who enterprise forth into a supernatural realm referred to as the Palace to battle evil, which brings us to…

What is the Story?

The story of Persona 5 attracts inspiration from picaresque fiction within the sense that Atlus’ JRPG sequel facilities on a ragtag crew comprised of roguish outlaws.

Behind the scenes, Game Director Katsura Hashino, Character Designer Shigenori Soejima, and Composer Shoji Meguro — three stalwarts of the collection — helped deliver Persona 5 to life, and the top result’s a stunningly lovely JRPG with coronary heart. Just be cautious of these Phantom Thieves…

“The protagonist is the newest transfer student of Shujin Academy in Tokyo. He had a bad experience with corrupt authority figures in his hometown, but he’s been given a second chance to start anew. Although he lives the life of a typical Japanese high-schooler during the day (such as going to class, hanging out with friends, putting in work at the batting cage, and more), by night he’s something much more than ‘typical’. Don’t let his clean cut school boy uniform and stoic demeanor fool you, because this kid is the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Codenamed ‘Joker’, the protagonist is a wildcard who’ll do whatever it takes to steal the hearts of adults he perceives as corrupt.”

How Does it Play?

Persona 5 is, in essence, a turn-based RPG, and for those who’re in any means acquainted with the style, it is best to take to the fight like a duck to water.

What arguably lends the collection a sure je ne sais quoi, although, is the Personas themselves. They’re highly effective, bodily manifestations of every character’s psyche — manifestations you’ll name upon within the warmth of battle.

This is the lowdown, per Atlus:

“Persona 5 is a game about the internal and external conflicts of a group of troubled youth who live dual lives. They have the typically ordinary day-to-day of a Tokyo high-schooler – attending class, after school activities and part-time jobs. But they also undertake fantastical adventures by using otherworldly powers to enter the hearts of people. Their power comes from the Persona, the Jungian concept of the “self;” the sport’s heroes understand that society forces individuals to put on masks to guard their inside vulnerabilities, and by actually ripping off their protecting masks and confronting their internal selves do the heroes awaken their internal energy, and use it to attempt to assist these in want. Finally, the group of Phantom Thieves seeks to vary their day-to-day world to match their notion and see via the masks modern-day society wears.”

A Lengthy Time Coming

Persona four Golden might have helped cushion the blow, however 9 years is an terrible very long time to attend for a new installment within the Persona collection. High quality takes time, although, and based mostly on the primary wave of glowing evaluations, the extended wait has very a lot been value it.

A Commendable Debut in Japan

Out there for each PS4 and PS3 in Japan, Persona 5 bought near 400,000 copies at launch, making certain that Atlus’ long-anticipated title acquired off to a robust begin in its native homeland.

That momentum continued lengthy after launch, too, which definitely bodes properly for the sport’s imminent western launch.

A part of an Onslaught of Japanese Titles Headed West

Following within the footsteps of Gravity Rush 2, Nioh and Yakuza zero, Persona 5 is the newest Japanese tentpole to make its method west, and we could not be extra excited.

Europe by way of Deep Silver

After a lot forwards and backwards, Deep Silver will deal with Persona 5’s distribution in Europe, with CEO Klemens Kundratitz noting:

“We are delighted to have signed this publishing partnership and look forward to using all our pan-European publishing network to maximize the potential of the ATLUS and SEGA games.”

Meet the English Voice Forged

With Xander Mobus (the announcer from Super Smash Bros.) because the silent protagonist, the English voice forged is as follows:

Xander Mobus because the protagonist

Cassandra Morris as Morgana

Max Mittelman as Ryuji Sakamoto

Erika Harlacher as Ann Takamaki

Matt Mercer as Yusuke Kitagawa

Cherami Leigh as Makoto Niijima

Erica Lindbeck as Futaba Sakura

Xanthe Huynh as Haru Okumura

Robbie Daymond as Goro Akechi

And Now, Their Respective Personas

They’re one of many key cornerstones of the franchise and right here, you’ll get acquainted with the principal Personas that’ll be preventing by your aspect in a few days’ time.

Arsene (protagonist’s persona): His face appears like a masks and he has big black wings.

Captain Kidd (Ryuji Sakamoto’s persona): He has a cranium head and a cannon-like prosthetic arm.

Carmen (Ann Takamaki’s persona): She wears a crimson flamenco gown, and makes use of a rose whip to swing round males.

Zorro (Morgana’s persona): A swordsman who wears a masks to guard his id and clothes like a gentleman. The letter “Z” seems on his belt.

Goemon (Yusuke Kitagawa’s persona): Wears an oriental-style outfit and carries a lengthy pipe. He has a refined pose, and a kabuki-style face.

Enter the Velvet Room

The Velvet Room, one of many extra iconic tropes of the Persona universe, returns with the discharge of Persona 5. And yow will discover all the required information proper right here.

“For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Velvet Room, it’s a special area where personas can be… played around with. Basically, the room is where personas collected in the Metaverse can be upgraded, turned into items, or undergo fusion. Let’s start with the most morbid one, shall we? Fusion allows personas to be fused together to create a new, hopefully stronger, one. There are three ways to fuse personas, basic fusion lets any two be fused together, while advanced fusion is preset and require three or more. Oh, there is one little thing I should mention. Your personas will need to be executed via guillotine to undergo the aforementioned fusions, so always remember their noble sacrifice when Velvet Room wardens, Caroline and Justine, lets the blade drop (be wary of accidents though). The third method of fusion is network fusion, which allows a player with online function to fuse their persona with a random online player’s persona!

“In addition to making heads roll, the Velvet Room provides different enjoyable methods to execute, I imply, handle personas. For instance, you’ll be able to strengthen a persona by sacrificing (hanging) one other one to it, put personas in lockdown to allow them to study to take much less injury from their weak spot, and “transform” them by way of electrical chair into a helpful merchandise/piece of kit. You can too register and summon them from the compendium as nicely! Though the Velvet Room might seem like a jail, it’s an necessary place to take a position time and persona lives in. Oh, you can even entry the world in the course of the day/night time or throughout Palace runs via a jail door wanting portal.”

Persona 5 Blocks Sharing on PS4

Wanting to clamp down on potential story spoilers, Atlus has blocked the Share perform on PS4, thereby stopping gamers from capturing screenshots and/or movies.

“This being a Japanese title with solely a single-playthrough story means Japan is very wary about it. Sharing is currently blocked through the native PS4 UI.”

DLC Plan Revealed

Atlus’ in depth DLC plans for each the PS3 and PS4 variations of Persona 5 could be discovered proper right here. Anticipate the primary piece of post-launch content material to drop on D-day, April four.

A PlayStation Exclusive, Now and All the time

Regardless of some confusion over the “PS4 Console Exclusive” label, Atlus USA PR Supervisor John Hardin was fast to make clear that each Persona 5 and Yakuza zero will stay unique to PlayStation platforms.

Cancelled Amazon Orders

One week out from launch, a variety of Amazon clients relayed stories that their Take Your Coronary heart Premium version and SteelBook version orders have been being cancelled. The issue has since been rectified, with these affected receiving a free copy of Persona 5 for his or her grievance.

A day later, Amazon expressed its shock over these stories, stating:

“This morning we were surprised to learn about Persona 5 ‘Take Your Heart’ Premium Edition cancellations with Amazon. After waiting patiently during the day we received word, and can confirm to you what we’ve always known, that there’s nothing defective or ‘dangerous’ about our product. While there have been cancellations, we understand that only a tiny number of Amazon sales have been affected. No ‘mass cancellations’ of the premium and SteelBook editions have occurred. If your order has been cancelled, please contact the retailer for support.”

Premium Version

There’s one other SKU out there for Persona 5, and it is referred to as the Restricted Version Steelbook model.

Take Your Coronary heart Version

Priced at $89.99, the Take Your Coronary heart version is available in particular packaging adorned with assorted Persona 5 paintings.

Inside you will discover “a 64-page Persona 5 artbook that gives fans a glimpse of the game’s concept art and character design development, a 19-track Persona 5 ‘Sounds of Rebellion’ soundtrack, a Shujin Academy bag, a 4-inch Morgana plush, and the game itself in a steelbook case.”

Prolonged Gameplay

Curious to see Persona 5 in motion? Atlus just lately hosted a two-hour stream teeming with gameplay footage.

Trophy Listing

Whereas we anticipate the English-language Trophies to pop, PlayStation Trophies has compiled a record of the Persona 5 JP accolades. Be cautious of spoilers!

Atlus Testing the Water for HD Remakes

Forward of Persona 5’s launch, Atlus is seemingly testing the water for HD remakes and spinoffs. In its newest survey, the Japanese big requested followers whether or not they’d be focused on revisiting older titles within the collection.

Palms-On Preview

Our personal Heath Hindman had the prospect to go hands-on with an early construct of Persona 5 throughout TGS 2016, and left largely impressed.

“It felt much like Persona 4; if you played that (or almost any turn-based RPG), you’ll figure things out and be able to get the most out of things. I just wish I had a few hours with which to play around with social links and the Velvet Room and all that. I guess what I’m trying to say is…I want to play Persona 5?”

Our Remaining Verdict

Tyler Treese has enrolled in Shujin Academy on behalf of PlayStation LifeStyle, and his assessment should be reside on the location imminently.

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